Electric-lighting apparatus for railway-cars.



No. 647,634. Patented Apr. I7, |900. W. F. RICHARDS.

ELECTRIC LIGHTING APPARATUS FUR RAILWAY CARS. (Application led Jan. 19, 1900.) (IIo Model.)

1HE cams PETERS co. moro-urna.. WASHINGTON. n c.

with Starts VILLARD F. RICHARDS, OF BUFFALO, NElV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES lll. GOULD, OF NEWT YORK, N. Y.

ELECTHlC-LIGHTING APPARATUS FOR RAILWAYnC/RS.

STPEIFICATION' forming part of Letters Patent N0. 647,634, dated April 17', 1900.

Application filed January 19, 1900. Serial No. 2,020. (No model .To all 107mm, nt/ty concern:

Be it known that I, WILLARD F. RIcHARns, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in lrllectric-Lighting Apparatus for Railway-Cars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an electric-lightro ing apparatus for railroad-cars in which the dynamo is driven from one of the car-axles by a belt and the dynamo is suspended by inclined links from a carriage which is adjustable toward and from the driving-axle to change the angle or inclination of the links, thereby regulating the gravity action of the dynamo upon the driving-belt accordingly. An apparatus of this kind is described and claimed in my allowed application for Letters zo Patent, Serial No. 7 37 ,154, filed November 16, 1899. The adhesion of the driving-belt in an apparatus of this kind differs greatly at different seasons of the year and in different kinds of weather, because the belt and pulleys are exposed to and affected by the weather. In dry su miner weather the adhesion is comparatively great and the gravity action of the dynamo is ample for giving the belt the tractive power necessary for producing an output of the dynamo which will supply the lights re quired for the satisfactory illumination of a large car, such as are used on this continent. In wet weather, and particularly in the winter, when the belt and pulleys are covered with sleet or snow, the adhesion is much less and a much heavier dynamo would be required to produce the belt adhesion necessary for the required output of the dynamo. If the dynamo is made so heavy that it will produce, by its gravity action, the normal adhesion ofthe belt under the most unfavorable conditions, the dynamo is much heavier than required in ordinary weather and the car carries an objectionable dead-weight during the greater part of the year.

The object of my invention is to overcome this difficulty, and this object is attained by supplementing the gravity action of the dynamo by that of a spring-tension device, which can be called into action to a greater or less extent, as may be necessary, to produce the desired adhesion of the belt, and which does not materially increase the weight of the ap* paratus.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is alongitudinal sectional elevation of a dynamo suspended by my improved suspension device. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. S3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the spring-tension device on an enlarged scale.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several figures.

A represents the bottom .fra-me of the ear; B, the dynamo; l), its pulley; O, the car-axle, from which the dynamo is driven; c, the pulley on the same, and D the driving-belt.

E represents the carriage or sliding frame, p

from which t-he dynamo is suspended by links e.

F represents the horizontal guide-bars, on which the carriage is mounted and which are secured to the bottom frame of the car by sockets j".

G represents the horizontal screw, by which the carriage is adjusted toward and from the driving-axle, and H the upright shaft, which is connected with said screw by bevel-Wheels 7l. and which terminates in the car-floor for conveniently turning the adjusting-screw.

The spring-tension device connects the dynamo with the carriage and is constructed as follows: I represents a rod which is pivoted to the upper part of the dynamo near that end thereof which is nearest the driving-axle. I will call this end the front end of the dynamo. This rod is preferably connected with the dynamo by a transverse pivot t', which passes through a lug t" on the dynamo. This rod extends rearwardly from this pivot and into a tubular casing K. L represents a spring which is applied to the rod I in this casing between the front head 7c of the casing and a screw-nut or other stop 2, secured to the rear end of the rod. The rear end of the tubular casing is provided with a head 7o', which is pivoted to the rear end of the carriage by a horizontal bolt Z, so that the spring-tension device can follow the vertical movement of the dynamo as the latter swings on the suspension-links. The pivot-bolt Z is removably seated in a bracket lll, whichis secured to the rear portion of the carriage.

The heads 7i: 71;'

IOO

are secured to the tubular casing by screwthreads for convenience in assembling the parts.

The spring-tension device is mostconveniently connected with the dynamo and carriage when the latter has been moved forwardly until the suspension-links hang perpendicularly. In this position of the dynamo there is practically no tension on the spring. Vhen the carriage is moved away from the driving-axle, in order to incline the links and call the gravity action of the dynamo into play, the lower ends of the links do not change their position materially, because the belt holds the dynamo, to which the lower ends of the links are attached, against movement 'awayfrom the driving-axle; but the carriage and the upper ends of the links move rearwardly or away from the driving-axle. The spring-casing being attached to the carriage moves rearwardly with the same, and the front head 7a of the spring-casing, moving rearwardly along the rod I, compresses the spring. In this manner the spring tension is produced at the same time that the gravity action is produced, and this tension is pro- Y duced to a greater or less extent as a greater or less gravity' action is produced. This spring-tension device does not materially increase the Weight of the apparatus and renders it unnecessary to increase the weight of the dynamo beyond that which is necessary for producing the desired output under ordinary conditions, because by its means a considerable additional tension can be produced on the driving-belt when unfavorable conditions require the same. Cars running on roads which present unfavorable conditions only during a short season of the year need not be supplied with this spring-tension device eXcept during the unfavorable seasons. The use of aspring-tension device of this kind enables dynamos of the same size and weight' to be used on cars which are in service eX- (posed to unfavorable conditions and those which are not.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with thedriving-axle, a carriage which is adjustable toward and from the driving-axle, a dynamo iieXibly suspended from said carriage, and the drivingbelt and pulleys, of a spring-tension device which connects the carriage with the dynamo and which supplements the gravity action of the dynamo, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with the driving-axle,

a carriage which is adjustable toward and from the driving-axle, a dynamo iiexibly suspended from said carriage, and the drivingbelt and pulleys, of a spring-tension device extending from the rear portion ofthe carriage to the front portion of the dynamo, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with the driving-axle, the dynamo, the driving-belt and pulleys, a carriage 'which is adjustable toward and from the driving-axle, and suspension-links connecting the dynamo with the carriage, of a spring-tension device pivoted at one end to the carriage and at its opposite end to the dynamo, substantially as set forth.

4:. The combination with the driving-axle, the dynamo, the driv'ng-belt and pulleys, a carriage which is adjustable toward and from the driving-axle, and suspension-links connecting the dynamo with the carriage, of a.

spring-tension device which connects the carriage with the dynamo and which consists of a spring-casing pivoted to the carriage, arod pivoted to the dynamo, and a spring mounted on said rod in said casing, substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand this 16th day of January, 1900.

WILLARD F. RICHARDS.

Witnesses: t

JNo. J. BONNER,

CYEsTA I-IoRNBEoK. 

